Evicted 101-Year-Old Woman Finally Has Her Home Back

Detroit woman Texana Hollis was evicted from the home her late husband bought over 60 years ago last September when her son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reserve mortgage.

Two days after she was kicked to the curve, HUD, the federal agency who did the kicking, reversed course and decided the 101-year-old could move her stuff back into her home. The only problem was the house had been condemned in her absence, and now nobody was allowed to live in it.

Caught in a bureaucratic knot, Hollis was homeless. That’s when Detroit Free Press columnist and best selling author Mitch Albom stepped in. First, he bought the house for $100. Then, through his charity and from his own pocket, he raised $30,000 which was used by 100 volunteers to get Hollis’ house back up to code. When that was finished, the house was gifted back to Hollis.

“God bless everyone who had a hand in this,” a tearful Hollis said after entering her longtime home for the first time in seven months.

All those who helped make it happen got more than just the satisfaction of a good deed done. One of the first things Hollis did in her freshly renovated house was to bake the volunteers a batch of chocolate chip cookies in her new kitchen. Watch a video of the emotional homecoming below.